Into The Unknown
by Eirtae
Summary: Yeah yeah: girl falls into middleearth. Takes place during TTT time frame. Possibly a Mary Sue. A strong likelihood. Almost certain.
1. Exposition

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Erin.  
  
A/N: It's been done before, and it'll be done again. I figure everyone writes one at some point, and here's mine. :)  
Nothing LOTR related really comes into this chapter; this is mainly exposition. You can expect something next chapter, however.  
Also, if anyone has any title suggestions, I'm open to hearing them. ;)  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Erin was cold, tired, hungry, and cranky. Actually, she wasn't extremely cold (just her feet), because, luckily for her, before she had disappeared from home to here (where ever "here" was), she had been wearing her warm, black hoodie and her tan-slightly-baggy cargo pants, which where made out of some kind of nylon, and were lined with a sweatpants type material. But she was still tired, hungry, and cranky. She didn't know where she was, how she got there, or why she was there, all she knew was that she had been tramping across this goddamned prairie for a long time and she wanted some goddamned answers!  
  
Extremely frustrated and confused, Erin sat down cross-legged in the middle of the field. "Argh! This is so stupid. It makes no sense. I can't just fall asleep on the couch and then wake up all alone in a field! It… it…" she buried her face in her hands. It was frightening, and Erin hated being scared. What if she never saw her family again? What if she died here, and all the search and rescue teams found was her rotting carcass? She doubted that it would come to that, but what if…  
  
She sighed, and looked up again towards the horizon. The sun was setting, and she didn't know how many hours of light she had left before it was gone completely. Erin had to find shelter before then, or god knows what could happen. Trouble was, as Erin scanned her surroundings for the thousandth time, she didn't see anything that she could hunker down in for a night or so. Just miles upon miles of grass. Lovely. She sighed again, stood up, dusted herself off, and began walking again in the same direction as before. She couldn't just sit there forever; nothing ever got done that way. Maybe she would find something, maybe she wouldn't, but she wouldn't know if she didn't try. Plus, Erin hoped that the exercise would continue to allow her to focus on her more immediate problems, of food, shelter, and drink, and keep her fears from taking over.   
  
~*~  
  
The next morning Erin woke up far too early, in her opinion. The sun had just begun to come up, and she hadn't exactly had the best night's sleep. When the sun had gone down the night before and she still hadn't seen any thing that she could use as shelter, Erin had simply laid down where she had been standing (after first checking for rocks and anything else unpleasant, of course). After taking a few moments to gather her wits, Erin sat up and looked around. "Damn. Still here," she thought to herself. Her stomach growled and she turned her attention to the fact that the basic needs of biology could not be ignored for long. The most pressing of these was something to drink, followed by the fact that some food would be helpful right now, and then, of course, there was a little matter of going to the bathroom. It didn't matter if there was no one around, Erin still felt funny about just squatting down and doing her business in the middle of a field. Wearily she brought herself to her feet and, once again, began walking. She briefly wondered how long she could keep this up without food and water. "No matter, just have to keep moving, you'll find something eventually…" that hope was all she felt she had to cling on to at that point, and she had it in a death grip. 


	2. Enter Éomer and Elmar

Disclaimer: Elmar and Erin are the only things that belong to me.  
  
Thank you very much to my reviewers. I shall try not to disappoint!  
  
I also want to say that I think that it is absolutely horrible that Éomer is not in the character choice list. For shame, FF.N, for shame!  
  
~*~  
  
Another night had passed, and Erin was not sure how much longer she could last. It was the third day on the blasted grassland, and wasn't the limit that someone could go without water three days? Still, she trudged on, though her mouth and throat were begging for a drop of moisture, and her belly felt like yawning chasm pleading to be filled with anything, anything at all… she had attempted to eat some grass the day before, but had not been able to get it down. She also felt like she had rolled around in a vat of grease, and would have very much liked to have been able to have a bath - after taking care of her more serious needs, of course.  
The cold had finally seeped through her clothing, and the sweatshirt that had kept her warm before was no longer doing its job. Shivering, Erin wrapped her arms around her tightly and ducked her head down, staring at the world moving underneath her feet.  
  
How far she had traveled, she couldn't tell. It was like being on a treadmill; the scenery never changed, and she felt extremely fatigued. Standing still for a moment and looking up to focus on the mountain range ahead of her, she decided that perhaps it looked slightly closer than the day before. Progress!  
  
For a few more moments she stayed in that position as she reveled in that slight success, but before long she ceased seeing the sights before her. Instead, her mind was conjuring pictures of succulent foods, nice, cool water, and a cozy bed. Erin shut her eyes so that she might see the images clearer and let out a small sigh of contentment, before her knees gave out and she fell to the hard earth.   
  
She lay there on her side for over five minutes before attempting to return to her feet. It felt so good to lie down and rest, she mused as she stared over the miles of emptiness. She was exhausted, and every part of her ached.  
So she allowed her body to have an unscheduled rest, and surveyed the land in front of her. It was in truth no different from the land behind her, except for the fact that there appeared to be a small, gray mass in the distance that she did not recall being there before. She watched it and wondered idly what it might be.   
  
It was coming nearer at a quick pace, and as it made its approach it became larger, yet still Erin could not make out what it was. A faint rumbling could be heard and was steadily and rapidly become louder, accompanying a clearer visual: it appeared, to Erin, almost like a herd of horses… smiling, she then noticed the riders on top of the horses. It's such a nice hallucination, Erin thought to herself.  
  
Suddenly the information locked in her brain clicked; her ears finally understood the meaning of the noise and her eyes the meaning of the sight at hand. A great deal of horses were coming straight. At. Her.  
  
Her eyes widened to the size of coasters, and as adrenaline pumped into her veins she scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could. It would be impossible to out run the line of horses, but there didn't exactly seem to be any other options. Erin ran.  
  
~*~  
  
It was over quickly; Erin never really had a chance. The horsemen, who now happened to be pointing spears at her in a menacing fashion, had almost immediately surrounded her. Erin stared at them in wonderment. They were the first people that she had seen in three days… and there was something about them that looked familiar…  
  
One rider nudged his horse forward and looked like he was trying to appear intimidating, and was succeeding. His face, mostly hidden by a tarnished helmet, was far above her own, so it was thus that she found herself looking more at the Rider's horse's nose, rather than the rider himself.  
  
She heard him utter something, but she could not comprehend it.  
  
~*~  
  
Éomer was at a loss. The being before him, who appeared to be a young Rohirrim woman despite the extremely odd garb she wore, had just collapsed. She had not responded to his hails, but had looked at him dumbly instead. Her face had a gaunt look about it, like one that had not slept nor ate for some time.  
He knew that minions of the Enemy would try to sneak into Edoras to join the agent already place there by Saruman, and that none should be allowed to go any further once he had them in his grasp. Yet, he did not believe that even Saruman would use someone as weak as the one that lay before him.  
  
In one fluid motion Éomer dismounted from his steed. The men of his éored relaxed slightly and lowered their spears, while he walked over to the girl lying supine on the ground. Grabbing her under her arms, Éomer roughly hauled Erin to her feet and held her there, for he did not believe that she had the strength to stand on her own. Looking down at her, he repeated his earlier words, this time in Westron, but she shook her head as if to indicate that she did not understand. A few moments later a croaking noise emitted from her mouth. At first alarmed, Éomer realized that she was attempting to speak. She tried once more, but soon shook her head again.  
  
Something had to be done, but what? It would be wrong to leave someone in the Gap of Rohan with no provisions, especially one such as this. He took pity on the girl, for something surely must have addled her brains for her not to understand either languages spoken to her.  
  
He gently set her back on to the earth, and re-mounted his horse. The girl made a noise as if in protest, but he paid no heed to her. Instead, he called out a name.  
  
"Elmar!"  
  
A path was cleared in the circle surrounding Éomer and the girl, and one horse and Rider pair moved through it to the center.  
  
"What is your will, Éomer?"  
  
Éomer grey eyes swept over the Rider before him, and sighed inwardly. Elmar was an eager warrior, but young. Too young, thought Éomer, to be banished Edoras and thus from his family. He was giving Elmar a gift, though he knew Elmar would not see it as one.   
  
"Take this girl to Edoras. She looks as though she needs care, and it seems some strange spell has overcome her that she can neither understand nor speak Rohirric or Westron. It would be best to bring her to your home; your father is a good man, and will treat her well." He paused for a moment, considering. "Do not take her to the Golden Hall, unless Háma feels it is necessary, for I fear it may prove ill."  
  
Before Elmar could gather his wits to protest, Éomer let forth a cry of "Forth, Eorlingas!" and the éored moved out swiftly, leaving Erin and Elmar quite alone. 


	3. Slight Illumination

Disclaimer:  I own Erin and Elmar.  That is all.

A/N:  I know, I know this is a very, very late update.  No, it did not take me this long to write a single chapter… I just didn't start writing it for a very, very long time.  Anyone who first read this story probably isn't reading it any more, mais c'est la vie.  

Also, this chapter, like the previous two, has NOT been beta-read so please excuse the many mistakes contained within.

Also also, I'm messing with the time line slightly, which will become more apparent in future chapters.

Also also also, the formatting is not doing what I want it to.  Terribly sorry if it's a bit hard to read, I'm trying to fix it and it is not cooperating.

********

Erin must have passed out, for the next time she opened her eyes they were greeted by a sunset – and a young man who was looking at her with concern.

Her tired mind accepted all this without argument.  Hadn't life always been this way?  Endless days and eternal weeks, spent in the sort of daze on was usually in when stricken with a high fever.

She noticed the boy was holding something out to her, it looked like something she knew she should recognize… a spittoon?  Cantoon?  Canteen?  Yes, that was it, a canteen.  She raised one arm slowly – it felt heavier than it should have – and after several failed attempts at grabbing the canteen, she laid her hand upon the rough textured water skein and grasped it weakly.  It didn't occur to her for a few minutes to take a drink, but when she finally lifted the canteen to her mouth and let the cool water past her lips – ah!  It was divine, a miracle.  A bit of strength returned to her, and she began to gulp the water down as quickly as she could.  She was dimly aware of a hand placed on her arm, like a warning, but she paid it no heed.  It had been too long since the last time she had been able to consume any sort of liquid. 

And so, once the canteen became all but empty, Erin promptly turned to her left (away from the young man) and vomited.  The water was not quite as refreshing coming up as it had been going down.

****************

After the girl had finished vomiting, Elmar had helped her drink what little was left in the canteen, making sure she only drank in tiny sips and did not guzzle it all down.  Now she was sleeping, once more allowing Elmar time to mull over the many questions in his mind.

Such as, why had Éomer let him go?  This was supposed to be Elmar's chance to prove himself, prove that he could be just as good of a rider as his father had been before he had taken his new job.  Prove that he was fierce and fearless, despite being placed in the lowest of the éoreds in the Edoras hierarchy.  _So I left only to be sent back.  To be even more shamed,_ he thought bitterly.

He shook his head violently.  At least he had been given a task, however lowly.  If he preformed well, then perhaps people would begin to see him as… as what?  A marshal?  Hah.  No one would ever see him as anything but a lousy Rider, and an even worse swordsman.  Except for possibly his family, though even his beloved sister had suggested that he was better suited to farming than he was to being a Rider.  He was no farmer.  He _knew_ in his heart that he was meant to be a Rider, and a great one.  Now if only he could convince someone else of that fact.

It was truly night now, but there was still enough silver light from the stars and the moon to see the girl beside him shift in her sleep.  It was amazing to Elmar that she had been able to survive out her for as long as she had (at least two days, he was guessing) – not only had she been found without provisions or anything of the sort, with the Orc attacks that had been growing ever more frequent it truly was a miracle she was alive.  Unless she was a servant of the Enemy, which would explain a few things.  Just not everything.

He sighed and lay back on the ground.  Hopefully, her luck would stay with her, and him too… all though her luck didn't seem to cover him finding a patch of comfortable ground.  Not that trying to sleep in his armor made it any easier.  For a minute he wished he were back home in his own bed after having finished one of his mother's excellent home cooked meals instead attempting to sleep on the lumpy earth after a rather poor meal of the thick tackbread and dried meat which was issued to all Riders.  That is, he wished it until he remembered that he was indeed a Rider and thus sleeping outdoors with no tent should not be a problem.  He was fierce.  Fearless.  He could handle a rough night.  No problem.  No problem at all.

*************

Her situation had definitely improved, Erin noted with satisfaction.  Except for maybe the bathroom problem, which was only being aggravated by her current mode of transportation.  But this morning she had had water from a fresh canteen and even a little dried meat from some animal that she probably wouldn't want to be identified.  The young man she was with (hadn't there been more of them?  Maybe he was left behind?) seemed impatient to leave, something Erin was completely in favor of.  If they left, they would have to end up _somewhere_ eventually, and then she could probably make her way home from there.  Hopefully.

It took several tries before Erin was able to mount the horse.  She could tell the boy was frustrated with her, he kept saying things  - directions? – and getting only silence, blank looks, and words said to him that probably made as much sense to him as his speech made sense to her.  He hauled himself up after her, said something to the horse, and off they went at a relatively slow speed that was still far too fast for Erin. She clung tightly to the boy's waist and shut her eyes.

Many hours and a few stops later, Erin and her escort were in sight of a city.  It was upon a large hill, at the top of which there stood a large building.  It looked so oddly familiar, just as the boy's armor did.  Where the hell was she?  As they continued riding towards the city, Erin struggled to remember what was on the edge of her memory.  But as the gates opened for them and she saw the building clearly, she knew.  Except it was impossible, ludicrous.  The building which she had seen so many times before on her television set, and on the movie screen could not be sitting on the hill before her.  Yet there it was, in all its splendor.

"My God," she whispered.  "I'm in Rohan.  I'm in Lord of the Rings!"

****************

Next chapter should have things really get started.  Hopefully.


End file.
